Hi,

If you are reading this you have stumbled across a group of great individuals down on their luck known as the jokers. We are a group of friends varying in ages from 18-61 who all came together over one common issue, homelessness in our state. The shelters are currently full and many people are experiencing the hardships of outdoor living. We are fortunate enough where we have found a spot aboard the dignity bus, a stationary bus with 20 small bunks that operate as a shelter. This is a great place for sleep and warmth, but the hours of operation are 9pm-7am, which poses a great issue on weekends. You see, we spend most of our days between the library applying for jobs on the computer and over at Thundermist Health Center, a registered warming center for homeless. The problem is especially on Sundays the library isn't open and Thundermist is 9-5, so there are 4-6 hours in a day where we have nowhere to warm up or rest or gain access to anything to enhance our situation. We just wander. There is also not access to a microwave to cook hot foods or a shower, we are able to shower once a week if we make the community shower bus on time.

We did have a Dunkin that was a welcoming spot for us, but another homeless group ruined it by selfishly wrecking a place kind enough to offer us shelter. We have all received a permanent ban as a result. That's the other thing, most people think of homeless as selfish or alcoholics or drug addicts, and there are definitely some in our community whose actions make it more difficult for those of us purely down on their luck to have places to go. One bad egg messes things up for those who truly just want to better themselves and stay out of the way.

ABOUT THE JOKESTERS: Who we are

Nick-32

I am Nick the one organizing this on behalf of myself and my friends. I am a 32 year old father going through a divorce just trying to get back on his feet so I can continue to provide and be there for my beautiful 3 year old Non Verbal Autistic daughter and be the daddy she needs in her life. When my marriage fell apart, I went through an absolute mental breakdown. I have diagnosed PTSD depression anxiety and trauma all contributed. I lost my job because me, my old partner and her new man all worked together and I mentally, just could not handle that every day, I ended up in the hospital for suicidal ideations and eventually decided it was better to move on and do my own thing, unfortunately, my brother and I got into a fight due to my mental health and I am currently working to get a charge dropped that is severely impacting my ability to find work. He wants it dropped as well but we have to go through the court process. I have never been in trouble a day in my life prior to the divorce, my head wasn't on straight and am in active therapy to become the best version of me for myself and my daughter. Time to rebuild whether that be a new job or applying for temporary SSI to continue working towards a better mental clarity.

Richard- 18

My buddy Richard just moved to our area from Texas with his mother. Richard doesn't know the area and is a young individual experiencing homelessness. His mother was unfortunately picked up by the police, so we have been taking him under our wing and helping as much as we can to just make sure he gets by. Richard is currently working toward getting his GED as well as applying for what will be his first job as an adult.

Albert- 56

Albert is the funny man, the laugh in our group. He hails from the Caribbean and works part time in the deli at a grocery store. Albert currently takes 3 busses just to get to his part time job, that does not pay the rent, but he is a model employee who all his coworkers love. Albert stays on the bus with us and carries his suitcase as well as multiple bags with him everywhere he goes as he has no storage. At his age it hurts his back daily to have to transport all of his belongings daily.

Mr. Paul 61

Mr. Paul, the dad of our group, what can we say about him. Mr. Paul has shown us where to get hot meals from churches where to find clothing etc. on our journey he has truly taken us in. Mr. Paul lost his job and has been searching for a new one he actually has an interview coming up we are all very hopeful on

Moral of the story, we all scratch each others back, one eats we all eat, one gets a hotel for a night, we all shower. We are the Jokesters and we stick together through these trials.

What the go fund me is for

Very simply, we need help with life things. The bus gives us a shelter, but while we are searching for jobs and working to better our lives, some daily necessities include

Richards mom: a son is nothing without his momma, we cannot judge for what her past has done, we can only help reunite a mother and son. Her bail is 250-500 depending on bondsman, and we simply do not have enough to ensure her freedom. From what I understand she is a 35 year old mother who just made a wrong choice.

Motel room: a motel room in our city has 2 twin beds, one hotel room would host 2 jokesters. It is $425 for a room for the week in the motel, that 425 provides, heat, hot water, a MICROWAVE showers, a television and other amenities that we otherwise do not have access to in our daily lives. (850 for the 4)

Laundry: lets face it, its not very often one of us has the money to do a load of laundry. Most of the time we are traveling in the same clothes a week sometimes more at a time. Clean clothes lifts a mindset especially in our situation

Bus passes: a bus is $6 a day or 70/month in our state. Bus passes allow us to get around and have more employment options than simply what we can walk to in our city from the bus

Food/ hygiene products etc: we have access to a church that feeds us lunch, but we are only ever guaranteed the one meal per day, and hygiene products such as deodorant, toothpaste and other needs are not always easy to come by.

More time with my daughter: a little selfish one here but as I said my daughter has non verbal autism and needs her dad. I don't always get to see her because of vehicle and living situations, as well as simply not always being able to afford to take her out. Id love to see my daughter more than one day a week for an hour or 2. She is my reason for existing and all I want is to do better by her

Any other funds in the goal are simply for day to day necessities, we aren't looking to go out and misuse peoples generosity, we simply want to get by and get our lives back on track.

Please consider helping a good group of guys who are just extremely down on their luck.

We appreciate any and all help, even kind words help lift our spirits in these troubling times

With love and thanks

Nick

Richard

Albert

Mr. Paul

-The Jokesters